Tulips are AMAZING cut flowers! They are one of the special flowers that continue to grow in the vase. If harvested when buds are just starting to open, they should last at least a week, but if cared for properly they can be beautiful for over two weeks! Tulips are also fun to watch as they age, as they turn a silky texture and in the eyes of this beholder are worth keeping around until their petals start to drop.

Tulips, like many flowers don’t need much water to thrive in the vase. An inch of water is plenty - just make sure to top it off as they drink. Like all flowers, make sure the water is clear of leaves and keep the water sparkling clean. If the water gets murky, just throw it out, rinse your vase and cut a little (or a lot - your preference) off the stems. A fresh cut allows the tulip to soak up more of that clean water.

Tulip bulbs are planted outdoors in late fall or early winter. Bulbs should become available at local nurseries in early to mid fall.

Soil: Well draining soil is necessary because outdoor tulips will be in the ground all winter and need to be planted in soil that will drain. A tulip sitting in any amount of water or soggy soil will become rotten and will not bloom.

Light: Most tulips can grow in full sun to part shade.

Water: If growing outdoors, watering tulips is often unnecessary, unless there is a winter drought. Remember that snow counts as water too!

Fertilizer: Tulips contain all the nutrients they need in the bulb. Adding a small amount of “bulb fertilizer”, which is a littler higher in phosphate (e.g. 3-5-3), could increase performance, but many growers skip this step, especially if planting high quality bulbs.

Zones 3 to 7 are ideal for growing tulips outdoors. To grow naturally, tulips need cold stratification, meaning they need a period of cold temperatures before they can produce a bloom. However, tulips can be grown outside in warmer zones, but the bulbs must be “prechilled” to artificially achieved cold stratification. To learn more about growing zones, check out the USDA zone map for zones within the US. For details in other countries, checkout the Hardiness Zone Wikipedia post where a lot of sources are listed for other countries and regions.

The bloom time of a tulip varies on the growing conditions, but traditionally tulips bloom in the spring months of March to May. Different varieties of tulips bloom earlier or later depending on several factors, including the number of weeks they need cold stratification. Tulips can be grown indoors at any time of year in very specific conditions, as long as the bulbs have been properly chilled.

Below is a list of resources where you can learn more about tulips.

• Sarah Raven’s The History of the Tulip

• Longfield Garden’s All About Tulips

• Johnny’s Seeds Tulip Bulb Comparison Chart